On this episode of the Cohere pIn this episode of the Cohere Podcast, hosts Bill Johnston and Dr. Lauren Vargas talk with community expert Betty Ray about the profound impact of rituals on personal and community well-being. Betty shares her extensive experience and research on the role of rituals in fostering belonging, purpose, and navigating transitions. The conversation delves into practical applications of ritual in both online and offline communities, offering valuable insights for anyone looking to create meaningful and supportive community spaces.

On the Cohere podcast episode, hosts Bill Johnston and Dr. Lauren Vargas, along with guests Scott Smith and Susan Cox-Smith, delve into the shift from traditional forecasting to the dynamic practice of futuring, as explored in their works How to Future and Future Cultures. They discuss the importance of evolving strategic frameworks to foster anticipation and adaptability, particularly in navigating complex crises. The conversation highlights the role of online communities in driving innovation and building future resilience. Through insights and case studies like the UNDP Future Trends and Signals System, they advocate for viewing "future" as an active process and emphasize the critical role of communal networks in shaping responsive and anticipatory cultures.

On this episode of the Cohere podcast, Bill Johnston and Dr. Lauren Vargas discuss Organizational Development (OD) with returning guests Dr. Sharon Varney and John Hovell. They explore the importance of OD, evolving dynamics, and curating OD Top Tips aimed at 'landing change with people'. They address the changing conversation around OD and highlight the potential for applying OD principles to community and network development, especially in combating misinformation in the digital age. The discussion also touches on engaging skeptics of OD within organizations, underscoring the significance of technology and social media in shaping organizational and community dynamics.

This episode of the Cohere podcast features an insightful interview with Dave Gray, where he shares his perspective on creativity, possibility, and the art of sketching as a foundational tool for exploring and realizing potential ideas. He discusses his journey from being an artist to embracing the broader concept of being a 'possibilitarian'—someone who actively seeks and creates new possibilities. Gray emphasizes the importance of sketching—not just as a drawing technique but as a way to engage in creative thinking and problem-solving. He also touches on his experiences founding the School of the Possible and the significance of creating spaces for meaningful connections and community building, particularly in a virtual environment.

As we begin 2024, Lauren and Bill would love to hear from you! Please send your suggestions, feedback, and ideas for topics and guests to hosts@coherepod.com.

Welcome to our special year-end 2023 review of the Cohere podcast. This year, we marked a significant shift in our approach. We moved away from the constraints of seasonal formats, embracing topical series that have allowed us to delve deeper into various themes, synchronizing seamlessly with our ongoing work and research. Let’s walk down memory lane and revisit some of the most insightful moments from this year's episodes.

In the last episode of 2023 for the Cohere podcast, co-hosts Bill Johnston and Dr. Lauren Vargas welcome Reneé Barton, Manager of Impact Research at the Crypto Council for Innovation.

They delve into the CRADL report, the crypto industry's first in-depth ethnographic study, which illuminates the varied motivations behind crypto adoption and highlights opportunities for industry refinement. Barton elaborates on the meticulous research methodology that captures diverse user experiences, revealing overlooked use cases and challenging assumptions about crypto's role in equitable wealth distribution.

The conversation also touches on the hurdles of user experience in crypto adoption, potential risks, and the practical application of the research for stakeholders. The episode concludes with insights on future explorations and where to access CRADL's pioneering work.

In this episode of the Cohere podcast, co-hosts Bill Johnston and Dr. Lauren Vargas interview Rob Hopkins, Ph.D., co-founder of Transition Network and author, on the power of community imagination in shaping our future. Dubbed a "guest from the future," Rob shares his insights on creating spaces for collective dreaming and the journey towards a healthier relationship with the internet. They discuss the ingredients for successful community initiatives, the role of imagination activists, and overcoming barriers to our creative potential. With storytelling as a pivotal theme, Rob also touches on the concept of 'embodied futuring.' The conversation concludes with a teaser into the intriguing research for his upcoming book.

On this episode of the Cohere podcast, co-hosts Bill Johnston and Dr. Lauren Vargas sit down with Jeremiah Owyang to discuss the evolution of digital technology and the rise of AI. Owyang traces his career back to community leadership roles in tech, emphasizing the importance of transferable skills acquired over decades-long technology cycles. He attributes his pivot to AI as a natural progression in tech, noting that we are amid a surge of interest in AI technologies. Owyang shares how he stays updated in the field, cultivates space for him and others to explore exponential technologies through gatherings like Lllama Lounge and discusses how businesses can leverage AI to improve communities and engagement. The conversation also touches on Owyang's recent collaboration on sensemaking tools, specifically an AI classification framework that ties into the theory of multiple intelligences. He addresses businesses' fundamental misconceptions about AI, which hinder its adoption and closes with advice for business leaders keen to transition from basic AI experiments to meaningful strategies.

On this episode of the Cohere podcast, co-hosts Bill Johnston and Dr. Lauren Vargas welcome Dale Dougherty, the founder of Make: Magazine and Maker Faire, and a person who played a key and critical role in the launch of the Maker Movement. Dougherty shares his career journey and his belief that everyone is inherently a maker. The conversation takes a deep dive into the history and future of the Maker Movement, discussing the importance of community in both digital and real-life maker experiences. Dougherty also outlines plans for the return of the Bay Area Maker Faire, revealing a new location and expanded schedule. For those new to making or interested in starting their own maker space, Dougherty offers advice and encouragement. Finally, he expresses his excitement about the current moment in the Maker Movement, hinting at the promising future of this global community of thinkers, builders, and dreamers.

On this episode of the Cohere podcast, co-hosts Bill Johnston and Dr. Lauren Vargas dive deep into AI ethics with Mihaela Vorvoreanu, Director of UX Research and RAI Education for Microsoft's Aether. The conversation primarily focuses on "appropriate trust" in AI, emphasizing the need for accountability in AI systems. Vorvoreanu boldly challenges listeners to rethink Large Language Models (LLMs) not merely as information retrieval systems but as systems of fabrication. She further confronts the exaggerated notion of AI as super capable and superhuman, shedding light on the common errors made by LLM-based systems and the implications for users. This episode offers invaluable perspectives on AI ethics, vigorously questioning the hyperbole surrounding AI and making the field more comprehensible to a broader audience.

Episode Summary: In the latest episode of the Cohere podcast, social learning theorists Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner delve into an engaging discussion with co-hosts Dr. Lauren Vargas and Bill Johnston. The guests explore the evolution of communities of practice, their forthcoming CoP Guidebook, and their unique workshops and retreats. They provide insights into their ongoing research project, a tripartite book series designed to update and expand their social learning theory. The inaugural volume, published in 2020, focuses on value creation within social learning spaces. The subsequent volumes, currently in development, will concentrate on expanding social learning across temporal and spatial dimensions and the personal journey of actively participating in the learning process.

Memorable Quote: “One thing I should say is, To be absolutely honest, I speak for myself, but who cares about communities of practice? Honestly, I don't, and I don't believe that Etienne does.

I don't care about community practice, what we care about is developing social learning capability of people, of groups, of organizations, of our planet. Otherwise, sorry guys. We've had it. So what keeps us up at night or what drives this restless energy is wow, how can we speed up the learning loops if things are moving so fast?

Everything's so unexpected. Unless we get so much better and quicker at developing learning loops into what's working and what's not working. Unless we get quicker at that, we're out mate. And so that's the driving restlessness and the communities of practice are one part of that."

Beverly Wenger-Trayner

On this episode of the Cohere podcast, co-hosts Bill Johnston and Dr. Lauren Vargas chat with Ed Finn, the founding director of the Center for Science and the Imagination at Arizona State University. As an associate professor in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society and the School of Arts, Media, and Engineering, Finn provides fascinating insights into the Center's endeavors, the collaborative imagination and writing project 'Hieroglyph,' and the pioneering Imaginative Collaboration Framework. Throughout the discussion, Finn emphasizes the influential role of hopeful stories in shaping collective visions for the future and shares examples demonstrating how these narratives can drive innovation, learning, and societal transformation.

In this episode, Bill and Lauren engage chat with esteemed customer experience analyst and researcher Esteban Kolsky. They delve into the complex world of customer experience, discussing the importance of community, the hype around generative AI, and how to sift through the noise to identify critical signals, trends, and patterns. This conversation highlights what is needed to develop the mindset required for staying attuned to what matters in a constantly evolving customer experience landscape.

Memorable Quote: “Organizations still have the idea that communities need to be managed and created by the organization. Mm-hmm. They don't understand the communities. They don't understand independent communities. They don't understand, even if they understand that they exist, they don't know what to do with information and with the people in there.”

Episode Summary: In this episode, Bill and Lauren engage in a conversation with Meena Palaniappan, the Founder, and CEO of Atma Connect, as she discusses her journey of building Atma Go, a tool for community change that operates on a hyperlocal level in Indonesia, Puerto Rico, and Ukraine. Palaniappan introduces the concept of the ‘plentiverse,’ which contrasts the metaverse, and emphasizes the potential of technology in creating collective consciousness and enabling every individual to become a change-maker in constructing a better world. This conversation showcases how Atma Connect is empowering individuals with low income and living in rural areas to take the lead in shaping their communities.

Memorable Quote: “What we really need is an algorithm for cohesion and connection - this is what needs to be built. AtmaGo has been an incredible hyperlocal tool for community change. We are focused on building a new infrastructure for collective consciousness through media, new technology economies, and society infrastructures.”

Episode Summary: In this episode, Bill and Lauren delve into their interest in AI and reflect on some of the key insights presented in the recent The Future Today Institute's 2023 Tech Trends Report. They explore the trends and signals related to AI, such as the integration of generative AI into consumer applications, the development of new computing architecture and applications, the significance of computing and connectivity technologies for the metaverse, and the potential of organic computers to overcome Moore's law. Additionally, Bill and Lauren share news about the continuation of Structure3C’s AI research and invite listeners to participate in a survey for the 2023 AI & Communities Research Project.

If you lead customer community, enterprise social network, or open innovation efforts for your org, we would love to hear from you!

To participate, take the survey here:

https://structure3c.typeform.com/aicommunitypod

It is time to become more curious and critical about our relationship with AI

Venessa Paech is an internationally regarded online community strategist with over 25 years of experience building community online. Venessa is also a PhD candidate studying the intersection of AI and community, and a global authority on communities and community management.

In the first Cohere episode of 2023, Venessa joins Bill Johnston and Dr. Lauren Vargas to discuss the quickly evolving role of AI in our digital experiences, how AI is currently playing a role in online communities, and what the future may hold regarding our collective relationship with AI.